Sustainable Transport In Barking

And Surrounding Areas

www.stibasa.org.uk

Click for events and activities

 

·         Introduction

This web site is mainly about "Sustainable Transport" (ie basically using a car as little as possible, if at all) in Barking and surrounding areas. It gives information about cycling, public transport, the disadvantages of car use and ways to avoid travelling altogether. It also has links to other related web sites.

Sustainable transport is part of sustainable living, so inevitably you will find this subject touched upon. The assumption that to live locally is more sustainable is prevalent. "Surrounding areas" means geographical areas, yes, but also subject areas. The main emphasis, however, tends to be on cycling: The pages also serve as the London Cycling Campaign local branch's web site.

Like many web-sites this one is something of a "working document". Information and links will be added or updated over time and the site will develop while it is in use.

You can have input too. If you have constructive comments or relevant information/links please email me, colinnewman@ntlworld.com.

Follow this link for events and activities

Barking Railway Station site (independent), with information on trains, buses, taxis and other amenities, plus links to rail related sites)

Follow this link for Links to other relevant sites

Follow this link for "Views"

·         NEWS --- VIEWS --- NEWS --- VIEWS

 

 

11 February 2006: Cycling Made Easy With New Cycle Guide

The Association of Train Operating Companies and Brompton Bicycle Ltd  have published the National Rail Guide called "Cycling by train". The aim of the guide is to provide cyclists with clear guidelines to each train company's policy for taking bicycles onto their trains.

The guide sets out such details as:

·        a summary of the regions each company covers

·        contact details and web addresses of train companies and cycling groups

·        the times of day cycles can and cannot be carried on trains

·        reservation phone numbers for passengers wishing to reserve space for their bicycle

·        the charges for taking cycles on trains where this applies.

David Mapp, ATOC Commercial Director said: "Our guide aims to make journey planning easier for all cyclists. Recent figures suggest that approximately 40,000 people a day use bikes to access railway stations in London and the south east alone. That number is growing, as is cycle usage throughout the rest of the country as better facilities are provided. Train operators are always looking to provide services and information which passengers want - I hope this leaflet continues  to encourage more cyclists to make use of the railway network.”

Emerson Roberts of Brompton Bicycle Ltd, commented: "We are very pleased to be associated with the "Cycling by train" guide. Bromptons are designed with freedom and independence in mind, and this guide provides all cyclists with the information they need to integrate trains into their daily commute and their recreational riding."

The guide is available at railway stations across the UK or from Brompton Bicycle Ltd on (020) 8232 8484.

The "Cycling by train" leaflet is available at all National Rail stations and can be found on the national rail website at
www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/cyclists.htm

 

11 February 2006: Bike Rail Integration Campaign


 http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4092

“Following the formal demise (December 2005) of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), Transport Minister Derek Twigg MP now has full responsibility for rail policy issues in England and Wales.  It just so happens that he is also the Minister responsible for cycling!  CTC is therefore calling on members and supporters to contact their MPs, urging them to press Derek Twigg MP for action to maximise the benefits of integrating cycle and rail travel.”

Follow the link above to read more and to lobby your MP on line. If your MP is (like Barking’s Margaret Hodge) a minister, s/he will not be able to sign the Early Day Motion, Ms Hodge did, however, write Derek Twigg after I contacted her office.

 

11 February 2006: London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) consultation

A chance to respond to TfL’s LEZ consultation here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/low-emission-zone/

The consultation document 'Transport and Air Quality Strategy Revisions: London Low Emission Zone - Draft for Public and Stakeholder onsultation', which explains the background to the proposals, is downloadable from here:


http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/low-emission-zone/pdfdocs/draft-for-public-and-stakeholder-consultation.pdf

On page 16, figure 2, 'Forecast emissions from
London vehicles at average London speeds for 2005 (NOx and PM10)' shows, for a range of motor vehicles, grammes emitted per km driven.  According to this, a motorcycle emits far more PM10s than does a car, and only slightly less than a taxi (black cab). Articulated HGVs are by far the most polluting, by both NOx and PM10s.

 

11 February 2006: Green Energy Works campaign

 

www.greenenergyworks.org.uk

 

Information from the Green Party:

 

This campaign starts this month. Nationally, the Green Party will be staging events to help promote the campaign in the press and raise awareness of the website and survey through other organisations’ newsletters & websites. The SURVEY is the most crucial part of this. Remember we won’t get press just for what we say (even if we say all the right things), but for what we DO. By going out, engaging the public and producing national and local survey results that show we are in touch with what people want done, we will get noticed.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions about how we can take the campaign forward locally.

 

With best wishes, Melanie Collins, Co-ordinator, Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party. mel@crotchet.demon.co.uk Tel. 01708 220160.

 

 

11 February 2006: Barking Town Centre Energy Action Area – What do you think?

 

Ken Livingstone has designated 5 Energy Action Areas in London, in order to reduce Carbon emissions by saving energy. Barking Town Centre is one of them. This means making new developments energy efficient and using renewable energy. There will be two consultation sessions in Barking later this month. If you are interested, see www.sustainable-energy.org.uk or phone (020) 7820 3185. (NB I couldn’t easily find any information about this event or EAAs on the website at the time of writing).

 

 

11 February 2006: Sustainability and IT

 

Two websites I noted some time ago: http://www.sustel.org/  and http://www.sustainit.org/

 

11 February 2006: Tour de France comes to London in ‘07

http://www.tourdefrancelondon.com/

Simon Brammer of LCC writes: “London has been successful in bidding for the Tour next year.  … LCC would like … to capitalise on this opportunity. We would like to see the Tour coming to London as an opportunity to promote everyday cycling in the capital.  To that end we are drafting a proposal for Tour team and I would very much like your views. Essentially, we are proposing that LCC lead rides from all over London to the event.  This would be delivered through local group activities.  We are currently discussing the possibility of having reserved space at the Grand Depart to watch the time trials as an incentive to lead or join the rides.  With the correct marketing we would like to encourage new cyclists to join the led LCC rides into town with the aim of encouraging every day cycle trips.  We know from survey work that led rides and bike buddy programmes are very effective in encouraging new cyclists to make everyday trips by bike.  We will be looking for funding to support this event. The proposal would also allow us to assess the effectiveness of such events in light of the ‘active spectator games’ *strategy that LCC is working to implement for the Olympics Games in 2012. Before we take this proposal to the next stage, I would like to gauge the level of interest/ support from local groups.   Would you therefore be kind enough to let me know if this is an event that you … would be interested / willing to participate in?  If you could let me know this by the end of February at the latest, I would be most grateful.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call.” Simon’s phone number is 7234 9310.

 

If you are interested in such a ride, please contact your local LCC representative. If you don’t know who that is, or you live in Barking & Dagenham, contact Colin.

 

 

 

11 February 2006: Bikes on the B&GO line

As usual, I was on the (crowded) 1750 from Gospel Oak to Barking last Thursday evening. There was a delay at Walthamstow Queens Road, apparently after everyone who wanted to had joined or left the train, and after the train pulled out an apology came over the train tannoy: The delay was due to a "young gentleman" with his bike. It concluded "You are advised not to take your bike on peak hour trains" [or similar]. I don't know if the "young gentleman" in question was allowed on, but if he wasn't this is no way to develop a fair
policy about bike carriage. At the very least people need notice of the change. The advice to avoid peak hour trains is good advice for everybody - not just those with bikes!

For those who don't know: This line has two-coach trains that run half-hourly (though there's one or two extra trains each way in the peak, provide by TfL £)

 

11 February 2006: c2c Weekend ticket offer

http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/discount.htm. c2c say “We’ve reduced the cost of Weekend Travelcards from all c2c stations into London by 25% for the whole of 2006. And the cost of our weekend Cheap Day return ticket has been reduced too”. They provide a table of examples, but Barking isn’t one of them, and there’s no obvious link to detailed fares information.  The ticket would only be valid on c2c services, of course, so for going to London you’ll probably need to pay for going on the Underground. Leaflets about this offer – similar to the web page - were delivered to homes in Barking, so it’s unhelpful not to include the fares from Barking. A dig around finds http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/leisure/quick.html which reveals that weekend c2c travelcards aren’t available at Barking. Any discount of cheap day returns at weekends isn’t mentioned, but the reduction for the examples given is around 23%.

 

11 February 2006: Vitalise

www.vitalise.org.uk. “Vitalise (formerly Winged Fellowship Trust) is a national charity providing holidays for disabled and visually impaired people. We aim to offer choice through our enabling environment whilst providing essential breaks for carers and inspirational opportunities for volunteers.” One possibility is offering to be a tandem pilot so that a visually impaired person can be the stoker. Volunteers get the holidays at favourable rates.

11 February 2006: Cycling radio show

One of the London Cycling award winners for 2005 (from www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=978 ).Best Cycling Media Initiative: Jack Thurston and The Bike Show on Resonance 104.4 FM. ‘The UK’s only radio show devoted to the miracle of the bicycle and the transcendental pleasures of cycling’. One devoted listener writes: ‘The Bike show is a very welcome addition to London’s cycle culture that has a loyal following and does its own quirky bit to get people on bikes’.”

 

The website FAQs page says: “We broadcast in central London. Our transmitter is at London Bridge, and has a range of 5km (3 miles). This is an approximate figure only, and in some areas (such as Hackney and Brixton), the signal may be poor. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this, as we are bound by OFCOM (the regulatory body for broadcasting in the UK) to limit our transmitter power, and thus its range.” However, I can pick it up in Barking as I write. Unfortunately, the show in question is not in the current listings, as far as I can tell.

 

www.resonancefm.com for more information and to listen online / hear MP3s of past programmes.

 

10 February 2006: National Rail fares cheaper if bought from LU stations?

TfL writes: “The train/tube fares listed in our fares leaflet [pp 20-21, or 12 depending on the version] apply to journeys made if you go via the tube - 'through' journeys. The example you mention [Barking & Gospel Oak line] is a wholly National Rail route and TfL does not set these fares.

 

 As a general principle, the various Train Operating Companies set the fares charged on their own services. In this case, their off-peak pricing may be viewed as uncompetitive, simply as the Day Travelcard is actually cheaper. The cheap day return between Barking and Gospel Oak is £4.40 against the zones 2-6 Day Travelcard (off-peak) at £4.30. The peak single is £4.60 with the return at £4.70. Of course, it seems sensible to choose the unlimited use Day Travelcard in this case.”

 

Not only that, the maximum ‘through’ fare for 3 zones excluding zone 1 (which zones cover the whole B&GO) is £3.  Making it apparently cheaper to go from Upney-Gospel Oak than Barking – Gospel Oak by single fares.

 

What I don’t understand is if you’re buying your ticket at a National Rail station (especially one not served by the Underground) how do you get such a ticket –and how do they know you are going to go on the tube?

 

10 February 2006: Safer stations

 

The Transport Committee of the London Assembly has published a report called Crime & Safety at London’s Suburban Railway Stations. In reporting on it, the Barking & Dagenham Post picks up that “the number of crimes per station is considerably higher at stations with an interchange between overground [sic] and underground [sic] lines”.  I don’t like this sloppy usage – Underground refers to a company, not a description of where tracks are and “over ground” could refer to Underground lines on the surface as well as National Rail lines. And of course a small amount of National Rail lines are under ground. The terms should be Underground and National Rail – and it might be better to include DLR separately.

 

The sloppiness in the report is shown by the top 20 table of “Overground” stations and the number of reported crimes. Some station names are starred for being “interchange stations” whereas in fact they are stations served both by National Rail and Underground. Top of the list come East Croydon and Clapham Junction. If they aren’t interchange stations I don’t know what is. According to wikipedia Clapham Junction has 16 platforms in use and over 17 million entries / exits per year (this presumably excludes people changing trains). We don’t know if West Ham is classed as an “overground” station but not in the top 20, or classed as an “underground” station.

 

Most stations served by National Rail are also run by National Rail – Barking being an obvious example. West Ham is an exception but I don’t know if there are others. In stations run by a National Rail company, it seems to dominate. The point must be that the rather higher standard of accommodation and security at LU run stations is noticeable - I know that LU has problems getting cooperation from c2c at Barking – so there’s the combination of high passenger throughput because of the Underground and a less secure station environment because of the National Rail station ownership.

 

www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport.jsp

 

 

10 February 2006: Light railway

 

Try this tube map for some light relief http://www.unfortu.net/anagrammap/

 

 

17 January 2006: GOAL 2012

 

Sustrans is proposing  a network of cycle and walking routes to the Olympic site called Greenways for the Olympics and London (GOAL). At the moment only 0.03% of Olympic transport money is to be spent on cycling infrastructure. If you want to register support for GOAL, go to http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sID=1137081747812 and vote!

 

 

17 January 2006 – School Travel Plan Campaign

B&D has launched a campaign to encourage sustainable travel to school under the tag The Children Strike Back and picking up Star Wars iconography – particularly a Darth Vader character, pictured in January’s Citizen heading a group of children walking to school.  Another picture features some cyborgs (I don’t know what they’re called) one of whom has a bike. I couldn’t find this material on B&D’s website, but there is ordinary STP information at http://www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk/8-leisure-envir/roads/safety/school-travel-what.html

 

17 January 2006 – Penalty fares on B&GO

Silverlink has been inept about this with confusing tannoy announcements and posters. Penalty fares will not be imposed on the B&GO because of the 9 stations that have no ticket selling facilities. If you start your journey at Barking, Blackhorse Road or Gospel Oak, though, you have little excuse for not buying a ticket before travelling. Similarly, if you change trains at these stations there’s the opportunity to buy a ticket that you might not have got from the train conductor.

 

11 January 2006 – Making More of the Heathway

http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/page.php?pageid=432&currentPage=1. Living streets have produced a brilliant report about what they think we should be done to improve the Heathway and the streets in walking distance of it. It contains dozens of recommendations – some blindingly obvious that shouldn’t need saying, but do, and some more imaginative ones reinforced by research locally and from elsewhere and by calls upon best practice not only from manuals but from real life.

What is particularly encouraging is the cogent input from local people who were ‘Community Street Auditors’ for the report. Just because the area is run down and neglected one shouldn’t assume that local people do not care or have given up.

One small quibble is that there is no mention of the 2003 audit done by TfL and local cyclists (called CRISP). This covered more than just this area and so is far less extensive in its recommendations for this area. Nevertheless it chimes in well and I don’t think people who cycle will find much to disagree with. The lack of mention of the CRISP report is more indicative of the status of these reports in the public sector than it is of Living Streets’ view of cycling and cyclists.

Whilst I applaud the view that special facilities should be provided for cyclists to keep them off the footway, the recommendation that footway cycling should be stopped by using fixed penalty notices (an option already available) should I think be tempered with some use of discretion for those cycling on the footway with due care and attention: The report recognises that some people who cycle find the carriageway too hazardous and also that the crash railings hinder movement. The problems caused by the railings to pedestrians crossing the road are similar to those for people cycling who want to leave the road and use the shops and amenities. It would be wrong to alienate them by using the stick before the carrot is available.

 

 

11 January 2006 – Solar Heated water and combi boilers

 

If your heating and hot water system does not have a tank, it is going to be difficult – but maybe not impossible - for you to use solar heated water. The websites say that some combination boilers (combis) can accept pre-heated water. I haven’t found one that lists them, but www.devonsolar.co.uk offers to find out for you. Others say that if there’s space for a tank one can be fitted and in some cases the boiler may be adaptable to work with a tank. The heat losses from a tank must then be balanced with the heat gains from solar energy to see what energy savings can be realised.

 

 

11 January 2006 – Speed cameras easier to get

 

The Slower Speeds Intiative’s End the Body Count campaign

(www.slower-speeds.org.uk/endthebodycounts/) has been successful in as much that “The Government has announced that for 2006/07 the criteria for safety cameras will change ‘to ensure that cameras can be used where there is a strong safety need.’

 

11 January 2006 – Car recycling

 

Rather old news I’ve found buried in my records. http://www.car-recycling.co.uk/  needs some work to update it (latest news dated in 2002!), fix broken links etc, but still contains some interesting information and a search facility (with a broken link to multimap) for local recyclers. The site links to http://www.elv-is.net/ (End of life vehicle information systems), but that site has been taken down bar a holding page telling you this.

 

If cars are to have any serious claim to be sustainable, the industry really has to do better than this at presenting the issue.

 

 

11 January 2006 – Misleading prices

 

People who want to live sustainably still want value for money, even if they don’t place such importance on least first cost as others. In theory, resource efficient goods and services are genuinely cheaper as they use fewer resources per unit of service delivered.  The price though, doesn’t always reflect the true cost.

 

But all this is clouded by the sometimes misleading price information given with a product. Take toilet rolls – a very day-to-day product. One of my local shops used to sell the same make in 4 roll and 6 roll packs. But the 4 roll packs had 240 sheets per roll whereas the 6 roll packs were 200 sheets per roll - equivalent to five 240 sheet rolls. Another “value” pack has 9 rolls – but at only 150 sheets per roll - equivalent to much less than six 240 sheet rolls. The per roll price on the packaging is misleading as a roll is not standard.

 

 

11 January 2006 – More car parks

 

Last week’s Barking & Dagenham Post carried an article explaining how what Barking town centre needs (apparently, according to the council) is another multi-storey car park. Even though Barking has been derided for its amount of car parks (which are of course empty most of the time), the fact that some will be given over to housing leads people to conclude that the lost capacity must be replaced. I don’t want the retail vitality of Barking to suffer, but I really think the emphasis needs to be on sustainable retail vitality.

 

 

6 January 2006 – Tube strike

 

It looks like there will be one starting on Sunday evening (8th) at 1830 and lasting the whole of Monday (9th). It would seem sensible to avoid travelling, especially in the peaks if at all possible. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/press-releases/press-releases-content.asp?prID=642 gives TfL’s point of view and http://www.rmt.org.uk/C2B/PressOffice/display.asp?ID=1823&Type=1  gives the union’s.

 

 

6 January 2006Chronostats

 

I have been doing some research on these devices, because my central heating control is so basic. I wanted something which would know the difference between weekdays and weekends and would combine the function of the room thermostat and timer. Two came to my attention – one at www.warmworld.co.uk, but the one from http://www.seitron.it/eng/prodotti/scheda.php?sectionid=32&itemid=206&begincount=0&pathtype=sectiontree&SID (which I bought from http://www.syxthsense.com/ecommerce2/cart1.php was rather cheaper whilst providing most of the functionality I need. Both the models referred to have the ability to guess when to turn on the heating to reach the required warmth at the required time.

 

If you’re searching, apart from “Chronostat”, try “Intelligent Heating Controller” (the term Warmworld uses).

 

There are some very advanced, networkable control devices around, but the prices get a little steep. If you are a home automation aficionado you might invest, but I would think for most people a reasonable payback time is the key: The Seitron is around £60. Not cheap compared to a basic thermostat, or even a basic thermostat and timer, but it will cut down on the need to interact with the controls – which is susceptible to human error.

 

3 January 2006 – Barking ßà Blackhorse Road and Oyster pre-pay

 

I have warned elsewhere that if you swipe your Oyster card at Barking and then use the B&GO to go to Blackhorse Road where you swipe again, the system will assume you have come on the Underground through zone 1, meaning pre-pay would be taken off your Oyster if you haven’t got at least a  zone 1-4 travelcard season loaded. Vice versa too. The TfL fares leaflet warns that some journeys are deemed by the Oyster system to be through zone 1 when they’re not actually.

 

The Oyster system ought to be able to work out that if you swiped at BHR about 20 minutes after you swiped at Barking, you can’t possibly have come by Underground – TfL’s journey planner says this will take at least 52 minutes by Underground.

 

 

3 January 2006 – Bikes on Underground – online map

 

The tube map showing where bikes are allowed is now on line, at www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/tube-map-bicycles1b.pdf, though the Jubilee section between Stratford and Canning Town is incorrectly omitted.

 

 

3 January 2006 – Christmas Card Recycling

 

“For the fifth consecutive year, the Woodland Trust has teamed up with retailers WHSmith and Tesco to deliver its annual Christmas Card Recycling Scheme. Recycling bins will be in all WH Smith high street stores and all Tesco Extra and Superstores [until] Tuesday 31 January 2006.” http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/news/index.htm. Watch this space for confirmed sightings of recycling bins locally.

 

 

31 December - Mayor is quizzed over commuters – Apology/Correction

On 23 November I wrote: “In an article thus headed, the Post gets itself a bit confused – or possibly London Assembly Member Jenette (not Jeanette) Arnold. The first is the reference to “single zone Travelcards” which she claimed are to be discontinued, affecting passengers on the B&GO who “cannot use Oyster pre-pay cards”.  OK. Although “Travelcard” is often used to mean the off peak one day variety, in fact the term can refer to what are often called season tickets – weekly, monthly and annual Travelcards. Single zone travel cards are available for periods of a week or more, so Oyster prepay is not an appropriate alternative. And there’s no such thing as an Oyster prepay card – the card is an electronic purse – onto which weekly (or longer) Travelcards can be loaded, as well as pre-pay.

Incidentally, a zone 3 Travelcard will get you all the way from Woodgrange Park to Crouch Hill (and back) on the B&GO.”

Sorry. Jenette Arnold is correct to say that single zone travelcards (ie weekly and longer duration ones – there haven’t ever been day travelcards for one zone to my knowledge) are to be discontinued. A weekly 1 zone travelcard (excluding Zone 1) was £11.20 in 2005 (a two zone being £13). In 2006 a two zone (excluding zone 1) will be £14.

Prepay, for comparison, costs £1 single for up to 2 zones (excluding zone 1), so if B&GO were to charge prepay at the same rate a 1 or 2 zone journey would work out quite a bit cheaper on prepay than a weekly. The zonal system works on the basis that most London rail lines are radial and long journeys go through zone 1. However on the B&GO you can go from Gospel Oak to Woodgrange Park (10 stops) without going outside zones 2-3. This would cost just £1 if LU rate prepay were applicable – but going one stop further – Barking – would cost another 80p

 

 

31 December 2005 – Get an Oyster Card for 2006

 

Apart from its sheer convenience, an Oyster card accesses much cheaper single, return and one day tickets than “traditional” methods. For example, some single fares are 2 or 3 times the cost when paid cash compared to by Oyster pre-pay.

 

For optimum convenience, get auto top up on your card – every time your prepay reserve falls below £5, the system will top it up with £20 from your linked debit or credit card.

 

 

31 December 2005 – Penalty fares on Silverlink Metro

 

Silverlink is introducing penalty fares from 4 January. The fine is up to £20 if you don’t by a ticket before travelling. On the B&GO there are still several stations without ticket machines, so anyone who is not a regular traveller (ie hasn’t got at least a weekly season ticket, or it’s expired) and uses one of those stations is unable to comply, as far as I can tell. The ticket sellers are allowed to use their discretion where ticket offices are closed and/or machines are out of order (Silverlink’s website says) but I don’t think it mentions stations with no ticket selling capability.

 

The sooner Silverlink gets Oyster card readers/writers the better. Then people will be able to download weekly and longer period tickets onto their Oyster card instead if buying them from the conductor. But better still, let’s see prepay made valid.

 

 

31 December 2005 – On line information about Barking Station

 

A lot of on line information is of variable quality – and that about Barking Station is no exception. And because Barking station is a National Rail station served by the Underground, information is provided by both organisations – even though it’s the self-same station.

 

In no particular order, we have Tube Guru http://www.visitlondon.com/tubeguru/station?station=BARKING. This has inaccurate information about the station (Gates – no - ??, phones – no!!) and clicking on pubs and bars leads to even more: apparently the Spotted Dog is 220m (c 240 yds) from the station. No mention is made that the station is served by c2c and Silverlink.

 

Next up is information accessed via the Journey Planner. http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_SOI_REQUEST?language=en&type=stop&id=1000015&itdLPxx_sessionID=JP16_3756972625&itdLPxx_requestID=1 . Why corresponding information should be in two places I don’t know – but at least it should tie up! And as to accuracy – since when has Barking been served by the Circle line?

 

Then there’s National Rail’s more extensive (but doubtfully useful) information at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/station/BKG.html. I have personally told them 3 times that there are now toilets at Barking station – but this still says there aren’t.

 

Finally there’s c2c’s information at http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/route/barking.htm. This is so lacking in detail as to be fairly useless – but it is accurate if not precise.

 

The “game” played by National Rail and the Underground of playing down each other’s existence is in evidence here. This is one of the reasons why I provide my own station site.

 

 

31 December 2005 – More on Bike Recycling

 

www.capitalwastefacts.com/boroughs/factfile.php4?id=228 says that Bicycles can be recycled at B&D’s Frizlands Lane recycling depot. I hope this is true, but much of the information on this site is out of date (old) and some of it is written to ensure it is or becomes wrong – references to “this month” and “now”.

 

 

31 December 2005 – New Green Sheltered Housing Development in Dagenham

 

Darcy Gardens – see the press release: http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/2-press-release/press-release-menu.cfm?item_code=2304.

 

 

31 December 2005 – run your engine on cooking oil, but

 

The Diesel engine wasn’t especially intended to run on what’s called Diesel fuel and Diesel vehicles can be modified to run entirely by, or mainly by biofuel, such as vegetable oil. There’s plenty of information on the web, including sites for sellers of conversion kits or firms that will do the conversions. From memory one route is to change the oil (transesterification) to make it suitable for running in an unmodified engine and the other is to modify the vehicle so that it can run on both petroleum diesel and vegetable oil – the engine has to warm up before it can use untreated vegetable oil –thus the need to continue to use petroleum diesel when the engine is cold.

 

There is a big “but” though. Georges Monbiot says (http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2005/12/06/worse-than-fossil-fuel/) that reusing cooking oil is good, but there’s not nearly enough of it to meet fuel ‘needs’ at current levels. Increased demand for biofuel will inevitably mean more palm oil plantations (palm oil is the cheapest) leading to deforestation and thus more carbon being released into the atmosphere (from burning the old trees) alongside the destruction of habitats.

 

So even with biofuel we have to keep in mind the so-called “well to wheel” sustainability of motor vehicles: It’s a fat lot of good (ha ha) cutting pollution at the tailpipe if that pollution is simply displaced upstream nearer to where the fuel is produced.

 

 

31 December 2005 – Natural Capitalism

 

The Corporation (which I saw on More4 recently – and it may be repeated soon -  is an excellent if galling film about the excesses of multinational corporations in their pursuit of profits. Left wing commentators such as academic Noam Chomsky and film-maker Michael Moore appeared to illuminate exactly what they thought is wrong. However, the tenor of the film was that when you hear the word “capitalism” you should think “evil”. In the book Natural Capitalism  (Paul Hawken, Amory B Lovins and L Hunter Lovins) the writers defend capitalism by trying to use its own principles to correct it. In The Corporation the fact of “externalities” was pointed out – these are consequences of commerce or industry whose costs are not borne directly by them – a classic case is pollution. Natural Capitalism argues that these externalities should be accounted for.

 

Apologists for communism point out that it can’t be judged by the attempt (if it was genuinely an attempt) to apply it in the Soviet Union. Similarly, because capitalism is attended by all sorts of problems, it doesn’t follow that the idea of capitalism must be at fault. Anyway, as capitalism and free market economics have the upper hand, whether we like it or not, any attempts to use their own principles to safeguard the biosphere’s non renewable resources ought to be welcomed.  Even if it can be assumed that the problems that exist alongside capitalism (or any other system) are caused by it, there is no excuse for not using the system to fix problems, whatever their cause. The “someone else’s problem” attitude that allows the concept of “externalities” needs correcting.

 

 

3 December 2005 – Sustainability

 

The Greener, Cleaner, Safer subgroup had an outing to the Millennium Village at North Greenwich today, followed by a discussion about B&D’s Local Development Framework – the successor to the Unitary Development Plan.

 

I found it surprising that despite the group’s sustainability agenda car parking was mentioned several times as a particular problem to be solved. I’m not saying if you ignore it it will go away, but I made the point in discussion that reduction in car use has to remain a top priority in environmental sustainability.

 

Consultation has many problems – one of which, in this subject area, is that the problem of environmental sustainability remains a problem whether or not people say it is or vote for it. Councils or any organisation must align their priorities with those of nature / the biosphere before considering the priorities of their residents/clients/customers that so clearly are dependent on their being a biosphere suitable for us to live in.

 

 

1 December 2005Thames Gateway Bridge Public Inquiry Postponed

 

The Barking & Dagenham Post reports that the inquiry will now happen in the New Year.  Opponents of the bridge argue that it is really part of the trunk road network and the bus and cycle lanes are something of a sop. The Post reporting in the Post reflects this mentality: “it will greatly reduce journey times for … motorists wanting to travel south of the river.”  No mention of public transport or cycling.

 

Personally I have mixed feelings about the bridge – clearly it will bring places south of the river much nearer – which will help those who have to go there, but new road schemes that initially reduce journey times (ie most) often finish up attracting more traffic.

 

 

1 December 2005 – New car free development?

 

The proposed site is Barking Working Men’s’ club – which is apparently dwindling and unable to afford its overheads. In the same vein as above, the Post says “homeowners will have nowhere to leave their cars”. OK, they later explain that being 400m (1/4 mile) from the station it is in the zone where the council encourages car-free developments, but the assumption still prevails that having a car is normal.

 

 

1 December 2005 – B&D Council re-launches Bike User Group

 

Darren Little writes:

 

“As part of the Council’s approach to encouraging sustainable transport I would like to re-ignite the old Bicycle Users Group (BUG) which has fallen in to decay over the past couple of years.

 

I’m sure there are a lot of cyclists working for the Council at the moment who often bring their bikes to work. Cycle parking varies throughout the Council buildings, and this is currently being looked at in terms of improving what is available to staff at the moment. If you are a cyclist and would like to be part of a BUG please get in touch with me - contact details below. We can then work together in conjunction with the Council to improve what facilities already exist and to look at providing new facilities where they are lacking. We can also help you to get more out of your cycling with free cycling maps and ‘Bike MOT’s’ and events. But to do this we need some ‘Cycling Champions’ to come forward.

 

The Planning and Transportation Division has just recently moved over to the Town Hall and in conjunction with Assets Management we have arranged for a secure cycle parking facility for Town Hall users. This is a lockable room to the side of the Town Hall which is available for use at present. A key can be provided to you as a regular user if you contact us to let us know. This new cycle store is the first phase in improving facilities at the Council’s main office buildings and Asset Management will soon be providing a cycle store at Roycraft House and Ripple Road Offices.

 

If you have any questions then please get in touch.

 

Kind Regards, Darren Little, Travel Demand Management Advisor. Darren.little@lbbd.gov.uk. (020) 8227 3943.”

 

 

 

28 November 2005 – extra trains on B&GO next month

Intensive campaigning by the Barking – Gospel Oak User Group working with National Rail, Tfl and Silverlink have successfully bid to fund an extra train service to alleviate rush-hour overcrowding – it will start on Monday 12 December. An additional service will leave Upper Holloway at 0742 and then form a Barking 0823 departure; then in the evening there’ll be a Gospel Oak departure at 1710. This is excellent work by the user group, which I do urge you to join. It’s just £3 a year.

Congratulations!

 

28 November 2005 – Bike Recycling Schemes

 

At last an update – and a new scheme (well new to me anyway).

 

(a) Waltham Forest Bike Recycling Scheme: The Bike Recycling Centre at Low Hall Manor Business Centre, South

Access Road, Leyton, E10 (Multimap references it in E17 – it crosses the border). recycles 20-30 bikes a month and sells them on to residents. Bike prices start from £40 for adults’, £20 for children’s’. Sales: 1st Saturday of the month, 1-3pm. Public Drop-In Sessions: Saturdays (except 1st in month) 1-3 pm. Tool Use £1 and help from professional bike mechanic. Details: gina.harkell@walthamforest.gov.uk or linda.webb@walthamforest.gov.uk

 

(b) Mike Walton Recycled Bikes,  64 Hollywood Way, WOODFORD GREEN, IG8 9LQ. (020) 8523 4173 / 07730 289 145

 

 

28 November 2005 – Bike Recycling Scheme – Volunteer and Learn

 

Volunteers’ day at South Access Road (see above) Fridays, 10-4pm. Bring a lunch & learn about fixing bikes. Same contact details.

 

 

26 November 2005: Reporting Potholes to B&D council

 

Reporting via the online web form seems to be a waste of time. One time, frustrated by the total lack of response, I specifically asked for acknowledgement and received a reply saying that the officer couldn’t make sense of my e-mail (system generated with the contents of the form, not written by me) and that I should phone up! The number to ring is (020) 8215 3000.

 

 

26 November 2005: Journey Planning and information

 

Best advice is to plan your journey before travelling, but in the real world this doesn’t always happen. Either way you are at the mercy of the quality and quantity of information available to you and – particularly if you are planning on the move – the amount of time you have to take it in. Earlier this week I saw a young woman trying to get to somewhere in Highams Park. She was on the B&GO (correctly) looking at the Silverlink line diagram (rather uninformative for journey planning) and holding a piece of card reminding her to go to Walthamstow Central via Blackhorse Road to catch a 97 bus to Highams Park. I don’t know who gave her this route, but I did show her on a street map I was carrying that Walthamstow Queens Road station is really quite near Walthamstow Central station – but she was not convinced she’d be able to find the way. I didn’t know how well signposted it is – if at all.

 

I later found out that the 97 bus stops at the junction of Queens Road and Hoe St, just yards from WQR station. The point is that none of this information was available on the train. I hope she wasn’t given the information that she had at Barking station.

 

I looked at TfL’s journey planner – and it had the correct route between the two stations (though not the one that uses the “secret” path from the eastbound platform to Exeter Road). I also checked what it would recommend for the change from Leytonstone High Rd to the central line -  a change I notice it doesn’t usually recommend – suggesting a change at Leyton Midland Road and then a bus to get to Leytonstone central line. Little wonder. The journey planner thinks this will take 29 minutes – which it might if you walk all the way to the Green Man and then back, instead of going via Harrington Road. I have reported this glitch to TfL.

 

 

24 November 2005: “New” Stolen Property Register

 

www.immobilise.com seems to be an upgrade of www.menduk.org that I mentioned here back in April. It does get rather confusing having more than one database * and more than one way into some if them: I registered my bike on immobilise.com only to get confirmation from menduk, where it was already registered. I don’t know if they’re going to do any matching to remove duplicated information.

 

* www.Bikeregister.com, www.immobilise.com (www.menduk.org), and www.thencr.co.uk (National Cycle Register) are the ones I know of that are still working.

 

 

24 November 2005: LCC Office move and phone number change

London Cycling Campaign, 2 Newhams Row, Bermondsey Street, LONDON, SE1 3UZ. Tel: (020) 7234 9310.

 

Newhams Row is shown in my street atlases but not labelled: This is why I’ve added it to the address even though Royal Mail doesn’t require it. It's off Bermondsey Street to the east, just north of Long Lane. At the time of writing they can't get their emails - so don't email anything urgent. If you can spend any time helping out at the office, do ring first - then they can plan things for you to do. It may be that they need help with the aftermath of the move.